Wikis -The Basics

What is a Wiki?  And What does Wiki Mean? 

Wiki wiki is hawaiian for "quick" so a wiki is a quick method of web publication that requires no web coding skills.  It is also an excellent way to collaborate online with people not all in the same room.  Watch the video below for a great visual explanation.

Why use wikis?

They are easy and free!  Wikis are great for quick publication, collaboration, peer feedback, editing/refinement and organizing.

How are teachers using them?  We covered some of them in the post of "It's a Wiki Wiki World Update".  Here are a few more ideas:

Story Starters - round robin writing

Book Creation

Choose Your Own Adventure

Collaborative Projects

Micropedias

Ant Farms - people/characters - whose paths cross at certain points and the reader can then click over to the new person

Branching Stories

Elaboration

Class Notes

Class/Teacher Web site

WebQuest Host page

Ready to Begin?

Here is a quick start guide for the most common tasks in wikis:  Wikis-The Basics

So to get started I recommend http://wikispaces.com- They offer free ad-free spaces for educational wikis. 

• Link to create free wikis for educators: http://www.wikispaces.com/site/for/teachers100K


• Help Guide for Teachers on Wiki Spaces: http://www.wikispaces.com/help+Teachers

Just want a place to play around? We have a sandbox wiki that you can change any page, add your own content or just look around.  http://sandbx.wikispaces.com/ - Just be warned that anything you do can be changed by someone else.   

Give it a shot and let me know what you think!

Web Wandering Wednesdays - April 30

Inspiration is a wonderful tool to have students map out ideas, stories, events, etc.  The downside is that Inspiration software is tied to a computer that it is loaded on and students cannot continue their work at home, and it is nearly impossible to work on it as a team.  This week's WWW are online mapping sites that are free and easy to use:

Bubbl.us - http://bubbl.us/edit.php - online webbing tool - Create an account and the program will save your webs and allow you to go between your saved files.  You can also share out your online webs so other can just view them, or so everyone has a right to edit them.  Can you see the possibilities of a class web on something that students could add to or learn from at any time and anywhere?

MindMeister - http://www.mindmeister.com/ - another online mapping tool - From their web site: "Users can create, manage and share mind maps online and access them anytime, from anywhere. In brainstorming mode, fellow MindMeisters from around the world (or just in different rooms) can simultaneously work on the same mind map - and see each other's changes as they happen."

It's a Wiki Wiki World - Update

I was reading a colleagues blog recently and her post was about focusing on just one thing and learning it.  This made me reflect on my "one thing" this year - the incorporation of wikis into the school.  During the October 8th Staff Development day I introduced wikis to campus.  The basic idea was to have an easy way to create web pages whether it be webquests, teacher collaboration pages, trainings, etc.  So did wikisbecome part of the way we do things?  Withthe year coming to a close I decided to share what some people on campus have done with their new found wiki knowledge.

The Beginning:

http://teachwiki.wikispaces.com/ - I started using wikis in order to keep track of the info I was learning about web 2.0.  I needed a way to keep track of my notes and be able to access them wherever I was.  A nice bonus of using a wiki for this is that others are able to add their own knowledge about topics.  The site has grown to be my home page of staff development notes and a place to collaborate with others to plan trainings and set campus goals. 

WebQuests:

Why use wikis for webquests?  These webquests were designed by a team of teachers who needed to be able to add in resources and details from various locations.  It also allows teachers to add in new resources as they go along and clarify instructions as the lesson is implemented in class.

•  Texas Energy - http://texasenergy.wikispaces.com/ - This is a 6th grade science project to have students research different types of energy to be used in the regions of Texas.  Students were to create a presentation of their choice to make a recommendation.


• Bill of Rights Webquest - http://rightswebquest.wikispaces.com/ - 8th Grade US History - Tying into the novel "The Giver," students were to explain to the citizens of the book why their amendment was vital to civilization.  Students then put that info on a wiki page.  After each group had completed the research they then used their classmates wiki pages to learn about the other amendments.  Here are some  random class examples:
  
  
  
  • Ms. Sphar's First Period Class
  
  
  • Mrs. Holmes Second Period Class
  
  
  • More can be found by going to the webquest home page and clicking on the Teacher names on the left.
  
  
  
  


• Go Green - http://rmsgogreen.wikispaces.com/ - 8th Grade Science - The students job is work in groups and to persuade the government to use that alternative energy source in place of oil. Students have a choice of products to use in your presentation to the government.


• Welcome to the World - http://welcometotheworld.wikispaces.com/ - 6th Grade World Cultures - Students researched a country to help create their own mini, online encyclopedia through use of another wiki page.


• Republic of Texas  - http://republicoftexas.wikispaces.com/ - 7th Grade Texas History - Students were to represent one of the many points of view that existed in Texas after the war for independence.  They were then to try to persuade the people of Texas on the issue of Annexation.

Student Projects:

•  Research for Spanish Speaking Countries - http://spanish-speaking-countries.wikispaces.com/ - home base for a Spanish project


• To Kill a Mocking Bird - http://hollander.wikispaces.com/Research+for+TKAM - Houses the 8th grade research project for the novel.

Staff Pages:

• Ridgeview Library - https://ridgeviewlibrary.wikispaces.com/ - where the students can write book reviews and the library can announce all upcoming events.  This page is a joint effort between the students of RMS and Mrs. Kay.


• Ridgeview Writing - http://ridgeviewwriting.wikispaces.com/space/changes - in order to accomplish the 10 hours of writing workshop required for the LA teachers this year, Victoria and Mona set up an online learning experience for the teachers.


• Mrs. Porter's Class Wikis - http://porterperiod2.wikispaces.com/ - This is just one of the wikis Jenny is using in classes to promote writing. 


• PPOW - Service Learning - http://ridgeviewmsservicelearning.wikispaces.com/ - Is a work in progress from Ms. Witkin to collect all the resources used in the afterschool service learning group.

Are there others?  Please let me know if I left anyone off the list!

Ideas for the futures:

Remember that wikis can be made private and not open to viewing for non-members!

• Online Staff Collaboration - Examples:
  
  
  
  • Potluck on May 7th- Sign-up for food could be online instead of the traditional work room refrigerator.
  
  
  • Chair Massage Time Slots
  
  
  • School Supply Lists- Why not collaborate on next year's supply list through a wiki?  Everyone can see each grade level and know who has requested what.  Easier than tracking emails!
  
  
  • Plans for grade level field trips- a great way to keep everyone updated on who is going where and when (not who - that info needs to be a little more inhouse.)
  
  
  
  


• Online Staff Development- take the model of the LA department - could more training be offered at flexible times by going online?

 Need to know what a wiki is or how to get started?  A post will be coming soon to help fill you in!

Web Wandering Wednesdays - April 23

It is that time of the year, when we all need to take a mental break from time to time. Here are a list of sites that can help take your mind off of the testing season and onto something completely different.

Digg.com
http://digg.com/ - Digg.com is a collection of web sites/stories/postings that other people have found interesting.  if you like something you can "digg" it and the more votes or diggs something gets the higher on the list it becomes.  Search by category or by most recent "dugg stories."  Very interesting stuff can be
found here.

Stumble Upon
http://www.stumbleupon.com/ - "StumbleUpon discovers web sites based on your interests, learns what you like and brings you more. Discover your web with StumbleUpon."  Organized more visually than Digg, but also has categories to break down what type of information you want.

LinkedIn
http://www.linkedin.com/ - Connect with people from your past.  The object of the game is to make as many connections as possible.  Actually the point of this website is to help you network with those you went to high school or  college with or worked with in the past.   I actually found my old college roommate here and found out what she is up to now.

Symmetry Lab
http://symmetrylab.com/machine/ - build machines and change what they do by adjusting friction, gravity, etc.  Okay - so maybe this is a little educational, but it is kinda fun as well.

Bonus:
Ellen and the Hula Chair - Need a laugh?  Watch and enjoy!

 

Del.icio.us - Social Bookmarking

or - How to Meet Friends and Influence People

With summer fast approaching (although not approaching soon enough) plans are already being made as to what people want to learn over the summer.  Most people have their favorite internet sites bookmarked on a computer and the question is how to access those sites from other computers to avoid having to find your resources again.

One solution is http://del.icio.us- It is a social bookmarking site where you can bookmark your favorite places and then have access to all of your links online by logging into your account from any internet connected computer. 

Web sites can be recalled by how you label or "tag" them.  Tags are key words that describe the site so later if you want to organize all your links to see what you tagged as "chemistry" you look on the right hand side column for your list of tags and click on chemistry.  Only those sites that you used that word for will appear.  The difference between that and using folders in Internet Explorer is that the sites can be filed under multiple "tags" and can be reorganized at any point by clicking on another tag.  Very flexible!




That is the basic function, but how can you make friends in delicious?   Delicious can also link you to people who are interested in the same things you are.  Once you bookmark a site, you can then see who else has bookmarked that site, and what else they have bookmarked.  If they have common interests you can add them to your network list and share internet sites you find with them and vice versa.   Once you have a friends list going, you can send them links that you think they might be interested in as well.

 

Getting Started:  Here are a few links to help you set up your account and to use Delicious to it's full extent.

• Step by Step Directions for Setting Up and Using Delicious


• 10 Ways to use Del.icio.us

Google Search Tricks

Google is a powerful search engine and can do so much more than just return websites that have the info you are looking for.  I thought I would find a few of those tricks and pass them along.

 8 Google Search Tricks:

1. Specialized Information Searches:

• Definitions: You can get a word defined in by using "define:warriors"


• Want to find food in a hurry?  Type in the type of food and the zip code or city and the closest business are returned in the results.  ex.  pizza 78664


• Weather:  find local weather by typing in weather and the city or zip code.

2. Restrict Information:

• Search Within a WebSite: If you put a word/term and then "site:" and then the domain name  you can conduct a search within that web site.  For example if you put "podcast site:robinstechtips.com"  you would be searching for podcasts within this website only.


• Search within a range of numbers.  Ex  BIll Cosby parenting 2007 2008  will return anything posted from Bill Cosby on parenting between 2007 and 2008

3. Calculator - Basic Math Operations: Type in a equation and google will do the math for you  ex. 12 + 34 - 56 * 7 / 8. 

• Functions include: + – * /


• Percentages  - % of


• Raise to the power of ^ or **  ex. 2^5 or 2**5


• Convert currency:  Enter the conversion you want Google to preform:  ex: currency of Mexico in USD or 40 USD in Euros

4. Filetype - Want to find pdf files, or just have powerpoints returned?  type in the search terms and add "filetype:ppt"

5. What Time is it?  Find out the time anywhere by asking "what time is it in Zimbobwe"

6. Track Flight Status:  No need to go to the airlines page - just type in the airline + Flight + flight number.  ex. Southwest Flight 805

7. Search for Related Terms - adding a ~ will opens results to terms that are related to the search word. ~education returns results with schools, universites, teachers, etc.

8. Phone Book - type in the name and city, state to return phone numbers

Not a Search Trick  - But did you know:  Google Maps now contains 360° views at the street level - Type in your address and look around your street. 

Do you have any favorite tricks in Google to share?

Resources used to prepare this list:

• http://www.googleguide.com/advanced_operators_reference.html


• http://lifehacker.com/339474/top-10-obscure-google-search-tricks


• http://www.google.com/help/features.html#calculator

Web Wandering Wednesdays - April 16

Need Pictures:

Comp Flight - http://compfight.com/

• What is it?  Searches Flickr for photos for the term you give it.  The results are returned on one page in thumbnail form instead of a list of images that you have to page through in Flickr.  Hold your mouse over an image and you can see the image resolution information. 


• What are applications for it in the classroom? -  Great if you need pictures for a presentation, but don't want to spend forever looking. 


• Tips:  Don't save from the results page -those images are thumbnails only and the resolution is VERY low.  Not kid friendly on the searches so be careful about terms and who is searching.

NARA on Google: http://video.google.com/nara.html

• What is It? - The National Archives has teamed up with Google Video to digitize it's file collection.  Includes footage from NASA, United Newsreels and Department of the Interior.


• What are the applications for the classroom?  Videos can be added to any presentation or be used in a teaching just as you would United Streaming.  Example: You can stream or dowload video from the past to show students what was happening when the novel you are reading was set.

Library of Congress Pictures on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/library_of_congress/

• What is It?- The Library of Congress teamed up with Flickr earlier this year to make it's collection of photographs available.  You can search within this collection to find historical photos on sports, lifestyle or political events.


• What are the applications for the classroom?-  Anywhere you need pictures to illustrate a point being taught.  Great for Powerpoints, PhotoStory presentations, etc.

Timeline Software:

Mnemograph - http://mnemograph.com/ - Instructions: http://mnemograph.com/instructions/

• What is it?- Creates online timelines that are interactive.  Photos and text can be imported in.


• What are applications for it in the classroom? - 
  
  
  
  • Create a class timeline about
    
    
    
    • the novel being read
    
    
    • scientific discoveries
    
    
    • events in history.  - Example - American Civil War: http://mnemograph.com/app/viewer.php?uid=line_eacbe63816351cfcbe61f5bdb8fd8cb9
    
    
    
    
  
  
  • Add to it as you learn more.  
  
  
  • Compare two timelines together to see how events overlapped and may have influenced each other.
  
  
  
  

 XTimeline - http://www.xtimeline.com/

What is it?- Create your own online timelines or view those that have been created.

What are applications for it in the classroom? - 

Has pre-made timelines for viewing

Editors can be added to the timeline

Create a class time lines (see above)

Thanks to http://techchicktips.net/ and http://www.techedknow.com/ for sharing these resources!

Attention Ridgeview Middle School Subscrbers:  If you let me know you read this before I send it out to the campus, there are prizes for having subscribed!   Leave a comment about one of the resources, or send me an email to claim it.  Thanks!